IPA: /ə/

Schwa-Laut

Schwa Sound

The Schwa /ə/ is the most common unstressed vowel in German. It appears in: endings -e (bitte), -en (kommen), -er (Mutter → /mʊtɐ/), prefixes be- (bekommen), ge- (gemacht). It's a neutral, very short 'uh' sound. In natural speech, -en often reduces to just /n/.

Sounds

IPA	Beispiel	Translation
/ə/ -e	bitte	please
/ən/ -en	kommen	to come
/ɐ/ -er	Mutter	mother

Minimal Pairs

lebe

live (verb)

vs

Leben

life (noun)

gehe

go (verb)

vs

gehen

to go (infinitive)

Tips

Don't stress the Schwa — it should be quick and neutral, almost swallowed.

In natural speech, -en reduces to /n/: 'kommen' → 'kommn', 'haben' → 'habn'.

Common Mistakes

Pronouncing every -e ending as a full vowel

Fix: Reduce to quick neutral /ə/ — don't give it full value

Related Sounds

Drei E-Laute/eː, ɛ, ə/Deutsches R/ʁ/

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